California Gov. Jerry Brown halted a transit strike threatening the San
Francisco Bay Area's main commuter rail system, invoking a law that makes a
strike illegal for, effectively, the next seven days.

Because a strike would "disrupt public transportation services and will endanger
the public's health, safety, and welfare," Gov. Brown said in a statement Sunday
night, he had appointed a three-member board to investigate "the threatened
strike" over the next seven days. California law prohibits a strike while the
investigation proceeds.

Bay Area Rapid Transit workers picketing during last month's four-day strike;
with management and unions still far apart Sunday night, Gov. Jerry Brown
intervened to delay a second strike by a week.Train drivers, station agents and
other workers of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System announced the strike late
last week after union and BART negotiators failed to make significant headway
toward a new labor contract.

It would have been the summer's second BART strike. The first, which lasted four
days the first week of July, cost the Bay Area at least $73 million daily in
lost productivity, according to Tracey Grose, the vice president of the Bay Area
Council Economic Institute, a nonprofit research organization.

BART Board President Tom Radulovich, in a Sunday letter to Gov. Brown requesting
he intervene to prevent a second strike, said the union's demands are still
insupportable.

"The BART system is aging, and needs considerable reinvestment to meet the
mobility needs of the Bay Area while state and federal support for transit
dwindle," Mr. Radulovich wrote. "Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining benefits
continues to grow faster than our revenues. Our labor agreements must reflect
these financial realities."

Pete Castelli, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local
1021, said BART's offer Sunday was "regressive"—financially worse for his
members than its previous offer—while BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said, "We
made a steadily upward climb in our offers all weekend, offering more and
more—the wage proposal went up."

"They were calling our proposal regressive," she said, "and our response was we
only went in one direction, and that was up."

As of about a month ago, Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555
were asking for a 4.5% wage increase for each of the next three years, along
with an annual 2.2% cost-of-living adjustment.

BART, Ms. Trost said, has offered an 8% salary increase over four years, while also asking workers to pay more for health insurance, saying their premiums are some of the lowest in California.

According to Ms. Trost, after the governor-appointed panel releases its report,
the governor will have the option of asking a judge to impose a 60-day strike
injunction as negotiations proceed.

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So as I understand it the Union is requesting a salary increase of 4.5% EACH Year for 4 years and a 2.2% cost of living EACH Year on top of that for a total of 6.7% EACH Year for 4 years for a Grand Total of 26.8% in Salary increases on top of the over $75,000 a year they receive gross? And they do not pay into a retirement program, BART pays into their program and they only pay $92 a month flat rate into their health plan?

I know of no other government agency or private agency that does that. Where I work we pay a portion of our salary into a retirement fund and health fund and our company pays matching amounts if not more. And because I budget my funds carefully I am able to pay into a private retirement fund as well. When I retire I will continue with my same health insurance and also medicare, and I will pay so much into it and my compay will match it as well.

I and my co-workers do not know of any company or agency that coddles their employees like that.

The safety issue I certainly can understand but if the employees want safety then they have to make adjustments on other issues accordingly. Unfortunately it will be the passengers who will have to pay for the increase via their fare costs. Nobody rides for free in this life.

No wonder my fellow co-workers are so disenchanted by the Union's side of things. I also understand that a state legislator is seeking to have a bill passed that such strikes done by a government agency that serious affects the economy and commerce be deemed illegal, and force both sides to remain at negotiations even when a contract runs out. So the BART Union has really started a process that will eventually hurt all Union members. Tsk-tsk. How short-sighted by the Union.

Well Darklings I must go, by the way Coralline, her mother and I had fun over the weekend weeding Coralline's closet and shopping for goodies for her and we are not done, well get together again soon to do more. The clothing that Coralline out grew and she is going to be a tall young lady, I have in two bags which will go to a charity, talking to Doyle over the phone he said he'll take care of it for us. Such a good man.

Vampire Gothic Rose

About Me

I am an aging Goth, this blog is a diary about how I grew up as an aging goth in the late 1950's, 60's and 70's before being Goth became Kool or whatever it's called now. I'm in my 60's having been born when UFO's crashed into Roswell, New Mexico. If that isn't auspiscious then I don't know what is. I'm going to post my thoughts about a style of Goth that I don't see around here, what I call the Art Deco, Retro aka Corporate Goth. It's not going to be difinitive because I'll be talking about it from an Elderly point of view.
I'll also be posting about what is currently happening in my life, my interest's and strange things.
This blog is not going to be politically correct, I'll get mad and fed up with things, I simply will not put up with foolishness. So if you don't like what I say, that's too bad, you've been warned.